By Dr. Leon R. Koziol

On this Martin Luther King Day, we join fellow Americans in paying tribute to our greatest civil rights leader. It’s hard to imagine in our lifetimes that a day existed when entire neighborhoods and school districts were segregated on account of race. As a free society we have come a long way indeed.

Unfortunately in family courts throughout the same land, we’ve gone in an opposite direction. This is an enclave in which equality has no meaning, civil rights are trampled upon and African-Americans are being slaughtered or imprisoned for money debts. A prime example is Walter Scott murdered this past year by a traffic cop in South Carolina while fleeing a child support warrant.

Family court has been described as a “constitution-free zone.” The state has found a mechanism for oppression by exploiting our children to raise revenues and fees on the backs of fathers who simply find themselves unable to meet expenses after taxes and child support are deducted from their paychecks.

And it’s not just minorities being imprisoned for these debts. Our military and law enforcement represent a growing constituency of victims. In upstate New York a police investigator committed a murder-suicide upon leaving support court leaving three children without parents and the city with a $2 million liability, see Pearce v Longo.

Fathers are still 85% of all child support payors and we have become the most imprisoned population in the free world. A trillion dollar industry has forced dedicated dads to be on a constant defensive in these courts. It’s long past a time when equality and civility are achieved in the places most trusted to protect our basic human rights.

Unfortunately that’s where the violations are still occurring. Family judges like Daniel King are the civil rights violators protected by absolute immunity. That’s also why we must act on our own. In coming days you will see our proposal for a major rally in our nation’s capital to make a real difference. We must make our grievances known during a key presidential election on Fathers’ Day week.

The time for talk and keyboarding is over. When a governor in Arizona can still make speeches replete with sexist slurs, dead beat dads (only) and feel no shame, fathers must take such public servants to task. We will not go quietly into the night while everyone else preaches equal rights at our expense. A new WordPress website sponsored by National League of Fathers Inc. has been established  and will be updated soon to promote this rally. Please support our cause and be sure to bookmark: https://nationalleagueoffathers.wordpress.com

Dr. Leon R. Koziol

Civil Rights Advocate

(315) 796-4000

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